The Government of Yemen condemns the Houthi’s announcement of the closure of Sana’a airport to relief and humanitarian flights, including those of the United Nations, and their continued exploitation of the suffering of Yemenis.
Over four months ago (May 2020), The Government of Yemen agreed to the proposal of the UN Special Envoy to open Sana’a Airport for direct international commercial flights through Yemenia Airlines. The Houthis, on the other hand, rejected the proposal.
During the period from Jan 2020 to August 2020, the quantities of oil derivatives imported into Yemen increased by 13% compared to the same period of last year. The current fuel crisis in areas under Houthi control is a fabricated systematic crisis of their own creation.
More than 3.2 million tons of oil were imported into Yemen from Jan to Aug 2020, a quantity sufficient enough to fulfill Yemen’s fuel needs for more than 11 months, 53% of which was distributed in Houthi-controlled areas, and most of it was supplied through Hodeidah port.
The Port of Hodeidah remains to be the port through which most oil derivatives are supplied. From Jan to Aug 2020, the port received more than 1.2 MMT of oil derivatives, a quantity sufficient enough to fulfill the fuel needs in Houthi-controlled areas for at least 7 months.
The closure of Sana’a airport by the Houthis is a desperate attempt to cover up their deplorable theft of more than 50 billion Yemeni Riyals from the revenues of oil derivatives in Hodiedah, which were intended to pay the salaries of Civil servants in Yemen.